Some Things Never Change
by jackwabbit
Summary: Gen With Mention of S/K, Mostly Crew Friendship. Spoilers: None, But Is Post-BDM. Summary: Some Things Never Change… Note: Written in response to the LJ prompt of ‘cussing’ on ff friday.


**Some Things Never Change**

Rated: PG

Category: Gen With Mention of S/K, Crew.

Spoilers: None, But Is Post-BDM.

Summary: Some Things Never Change…

Note: Written in response to the LJ prompt of 'cussing' on ff_friday.

---

Kaylee Frye couldn't believe what she was doing. She'd never owned such a piece of frippery in all her life, and wearing it to dinner with Simon was nearly undoing her with nerves.

Of course, this frippery was all sorts of slinky in places that had no right to be slinky, and Kaylee had to admit that she was excited to see Simon's reaction to it.

As she entered the cargo bay to meet Simon for a night out on Persephone, he was already waiting for her. He looked comfortable in his nicest clothes, but his ease left him the second he saw his date. Simon's mouth fell open to his knees and a string of mumbled profanity that would've made Mal proud spewed out of his mouth at the sight of Kaylee.

Across the bay, hidden in the shadows, River smiled. She held a hand out to Jayne expectantly.

"Pay up," she said.

Jayne grumbled under his breath and forked a bill into River's waiting hand.

"Doc sure picked a bad time to start cussin," complained Jayne.

"Conditions must be right to change the state of things," answered River.

Jayne was clearly confused. "Huh?"

River sighed and was about to explain when Mal's voice cut into the conversation.

"She means that all it took was our little Kaylee in that getup to change the doc's thoughts on just about everything, vocabulary included. Never shoulda bet on him stayin civil in these circumstances, Jayne."

Mal stepped into the cargo bay from the side entrance and joined Jayne and River.

"I know that's right," groused the mercenary.

Mal grinned. "Oh, come on, Jayne. Ain't no shame in losing money to the albatross. We've all done it."

"She's got an unfair advantage, bein a reader," said Jayne.

"True," admitted Mal. "But that don't stop none of us from takin her bets, now, does it? So whose fault is it that we keep losin money to her?"

With that, Mal wandered off, leaving Jayne opening and closing his mouth like a fish out of water. He was trying to argue with the captain, but he knew there was no argument to be made. Mal was right. It was his own stupid fault that he'd lost coin here.

After a second, Jayne let loose his own stream of vulgarity at the unfairness of his lot.

It was answered only with a lilting laugh, as River danced happily off to the bridge.

In the mess, Mal heard the merc's roars and River's mirth.

He smiled and set out two glasses instead of just one.

He knew Jayne would be along shortly to lick his wounds, and he knew from experience that the best cure for what ailed a man when he was taken advantage of by a sprite of a girl came from a bottle.

Mal laughed out loud when Jayne appeared in the mess doorway just as he sloshed amber liquid into the second glass.

Jayne scowled. "What're you laughin at?"

"Nothin. Here."

Mal set down his bottle, then held one glass out to Jayne and picked the other up in his free hand.

Jayne took Mal's offering and swallowed it down in one long pull. Mal did the same.

No more questions were asked as several refills were easily consumed, and Mal couldn't help but smile to himself. So many things had changed on _Serenity_ in the past few months, but Jayne's reliability as a drinking partner remained the same, and it wasn't the only thing that did. The rest of the evening might as well have been scripted, for all it surprised Mal.

Simon and Kaylee wouldn't return until the wee hours of the morning, and they'd be giggling like school kids when they did. River would creepily haunt the ship for hours until finally sleeping in her pilot's chair, despite being grounded. Jayne would turn in after several rounds and be replaced by Zoë, who would have her own turn at the bottle before Inara showed up. Mal and his two women would laugh and talk and nearly cry until their wayward babes returned, then go their separate ways.

Yep, some things never changed, and that's just the way Mal liked them.


End file.
